Vladimir
Vladimir (ウラジミール, Urajimīru), temporarily disguised as Inamori Masato ( ), is the coach of the Disciples of Orion trainees and the member of the Orion Foundation, who pretended to be Inamori Asuto's father. He later becomes the new head coach of Guardians of Queen after Irina fired the previous one. Appearance Vladimir wears gray pants, brown shoes and white t-shirt with light gray collar and pocket. He has short brown hair with one strand of bangs on his forehead and short stubble on his chin. He has grey eyes and thick brown eyebrows. Personality At first glance Vladimir seems to be a little shy and smiles gently. He supports Asuto, watching him during the match and spending together free time. His behavior changed when they visited the Orion facility. He became cold, indifferent and clearly felt relieved that his role as Asuto's father was finished. Plot Masato appeared unexpectedly before Asuto, when he came back from American campground to Kazan Soccer Center. When Asuto asked who he was, Masato smiled friendly, stating that it was obvious he wouldn't remember him. Then he showed Asuto a photo of his mother and Asuto on it, holding the ball when he was a child. To his huge surprise Masato introduced himself as Asuto's father and admitted that he had always carried this photo during all this time. Asuto was looking at Masato speechless with emotion and unable to react. Masato asked Asuto to sit on the bench but he moved aside and stood away from him, being deeply mistrustful. When Masato looked at the picture of his family and mentioned the name of his dead wife, Asuto started at the sound of his mother's name. Masato knew that he behaved badly towards his wife, he regretted that he couldn't be at her side until the end. When Asuto recalled the memory of his dying mother, he felt a rising anger. He asked Masato why he didn't return and Masato apologized for this but it only caused more anger at Asuto. He shouted that mother suffered in her illness and asked father why he wasn't there. Masato repeated that he apologized and Asuto was still talking about his pain. He mentioned that his mother kept in secret that Asuto's father was alive, Asuto knew that she missed him much and she regretted not following Masato when he was pursuing his dreams. Asuto poured out all his grief and anger caused by the absence of his father, which he had been hiding inside for years. He punched Masato on his chest, full of despair and crying bitterly. Masato didn't try to stop him, he let Asuto cast everything out. Asuto was trying to push him away however despite his anger, he couldn't resist anymore and stopped fighting, letting Masato to cuddle. Masato explained to Asuto that he couldn't come back to family because of his pride. As it turned out after he was appreciated for his game and was appointed for overseae league, he got injured and broke his leg. Despite a long and hard rehabilitation, he hasn't returned to the form as before the accident and he was no longer needed in the team. So he played in many other clubs until he ended his career as a soccer player. He couldn't just return home when he sacrificed his family and finally didn't achieve anything. Asuto stated that it wasn't important whether he was successful or not, certainly mother would be happy with his return, just as Asuto. Masato admitted that he decided to meet Asuto because he saw him playing soccer. Despite the fact that Masato didn't play like before, he couldn't completely abandone soccer and became a coach of junior team. He involved himself in spreading the idea of a soccer around the world. When children were watching the match between Inazuma Japan and Spain, Asuto's play drew Masato's attention. When he saw his son inspiring children, he decided to meet with Asuto and express how proud he was of him. Masato praised his hard work and said he would watch over him from now on. Later to much Asuto's surprise Masato confessed that now he cooperated with Orion. Asuto stated that in this case he was the enemy of his team, who has been fighting with Orion for a long time. However, according to Masato, Asuto saw only one side of Orion and in fact this organization supported many children and their development through a football. If Orion gained more power, it would be able to save more children. Asuto suddenly remembered what Shinjou Takuma was talking about Orion at their send-off party. Masato admitted that maybe Orion's actions were defiling soccer but he would like Asuto to accept this for now since the Orion's activities supported children. Masato promised to reform Orion from inside and restore the real soccer. At the end he asked Asuto not to tell anyone about their meeting. At the moment when Inazuma Japan was fighting against Orion, they would be able to throw Asuto away from the team, because his father was connected with Orion. Masato wouldn't like Asuto's dreams and hopes to be lost. Before the match between Inazuma Japan and Navy Invader, Masato met again with his son. Asuto was really excited because father was going to watch his match. What's more everything went like his mother said in the letter: if he kept playing, he would meet his father one day. Asuto asked him about the old soccer ball which he found in their house. Masato seemed to be startled by this question and he smiled abashed, wondering that it was still there. Asuto explained that thanks to this ball he began to play and asked his father to watch him during the match. As Masato stated he was looking forward to it and indeed later he was sitting at the stands, ready to cheer up his son. When Inazuma Japan came back to their campground after the winning match, Masato was waiting for Asuto, hiding in the shadows. Asuto rushed towards him excited, lying to his teammates that he was going to the toilet. Some time later Masato took Asuto for a trip and to his surprise they arrived at the Disciple of Orion training facility. As Masato explained he wanted Asuto to find out on his own what was the real Orion like. Later they were watching Orion trainees during their practice. While Asuto was sure that Orion members were using dirty tricks and they intended only to lure into a trap other players, Masato revealed that they all were undergoing continuous training, far beyond the limits of human endurance. Each of them had a goal that motivated them to continue hard work, they protected their siblings or families. Most of them grew up in poverty, without perspectives and Orion gave them the chance to live a better life. Asuto was listening to this in silence however later stated firmly that Orion used those children to defile soccer. Masato didn't agree with him and explained that justice could mean for everyone something different, depending on their point of view. As he stated Orion from its beginning was an organization that were supporting youth soccer around the world, glorifying its values as a sport discipline. Although now they went too far in achieving their goals, their intentions and will of heart were true. Their conversation was interrupted when suddenly one of the trainees appeared and introduced himself as Malik Kuabel. As it turned out Masato was their coach and later Malik challenged Asuto to play a mini game. 's speech.]] When it was time to say goodbye, Malik and Asuto were still talking about Orion and its activities. Suddenly Masato showed up and revealed that indeed when the chairman of Orion was changed, they changed their methods as well and became more fiercely on soccer. In Masato's flashback Bernard Girikanan was seen making a speech to the other Orion's members. He presented his plans to change the organization and save the world, using his own methods and ideas. Asuto explained that hurting other people to fix the results of the matches was wrong and they should stop doing this. Masato stated that amount of poor countries which Orion supported, increased meaningfully and they saved many people. Whether it was good or bad, it was effective and Masato wanted to see it with his own eyes. He expected Asuto to look closer at Orion activities and make his own decision. Malik kept asking Asuto to join him and save the world using soccer, however he refused to do it. At the end he promised to talk to his teammates from Inazuma Japan and explain them more about Orion. Later the events unfolded very fast when Asuto was assaulted by two men in black suits. They grabbed him and put a cloth on his mouth, causing him to lose his consciousness and fall on the floor. It was time when Masato showed up his true intentions. He wasn't anymore nice, caring and loving father. As he stated he wasted enough time on Asuto. He was later seen during the match between Inazuma Japan and Guardians of Queen, replacing Kinben Giordani as the coach due to Irina’s orders. Trivia *'Masato' (真人) means true person, which ironically implies that he is disguising Asuto's father. *According to the interview in Animage October 2019, Hino revealed that Vladimir didn't know who Asuto's father was. Navigation Category:Orion characters Category:Orion Foundation Category:Coaches Category:Shadow of Orion